Episode 155

“Hey, hero!”

It was time to get down and dirty, hands and feet caked in mud. Latera, teary-eyed and on the brink of tears, rushed towards Shiron. Shiron, flustered, tried not to get her dirty with mud as she clung to him like a cicada.

“Hey, you’re getting mud on me. What’s the matter?”

“…Hero. Is, is this right?”

Latera, with a tear-streaked face, clung to Shiron and then suddenly hid behind him. Shiron turned his gaze towards the approaching figure. A maid with sparkling blond hair approached briskly.

“This cheeky little kid. I wondered where you had run off to.”

“Encia.”

Shiron licked his lips and cleaned his hands with a wet towel.

“Why is she so scared? Did you two have a fight?”

“There’s no way we fought. I merely offered to help her change her clothes, and she ran out screaming your name in shock.”

“Hero, you must not be deceived by the devil’s wicked lies!”

Latera, having climbed up to his shoulder, pointed accusingly at Encia.

“This wicked devil startled me with a flash of lightning! And… cheeky little kid! She called me a cheeky little kid!”

“Hmm…”

“If she truly just wanted to help me change clothes, she wouldn’t have called me a cheeky little kid, nor would she have said I ran away~!”

“Oh, did I say that?”

Encia covered her mouth, feigning innocence.

“But even if I did say that, it’s true that I wanted to help her change. It’s just that I spoke harshly. What can I do? This little one is openly hostile towards me and Ophilia.”

“…”

Listening silently to their conversation, Shiron’s expression hardened.

When they returned together from Brahham, Shiron had somewhat expected Latera and Siriel not to get along well, but he thought it was something that could be endured.

Siriel lived in the main building, not the annex, and Latera’s attachment to Shiron was not out of love but a kind of admiration, so he believed time would gradually resolve it.

However, he hadn’t considered the relationship with the maid serving in the annex. Latera, who held the title of an angel, instinctively despised demons.

So, it wasn’t anyone’s fault that the two didn’t get along. It was common knowledge within Shiron that demons and angels naturally did not coexist peacefully.

“…I think Encia didn’t purposely bully Latera.”

“Hey, hero! Are you saying I’m lying?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

Shiron gently removed Latera from his face and approached Encia directly.

“What, what are you doing?!”

“Stay still, and you too, Encia, don’t move.”

“…Young master?”

Encia blinked and embraced the shivering Latera.

“How about now? Do you still feel like you’re charged with lightning?”

“A little.”

“And you, Encia?”

“My arm… feels a bit numb.”

Encia responded with a bewildered expression. The trembling angel, radiating an immense amount of divine power, made her feel so repulsed that she would have pushed her away immediately if not for Shiron’s intervention.

Noticing her expression, Shiron took Latera from Encia, and Latera wrapped her legs around Shiron’s waist.

“Encia, who agreed to cooperate with me, wouldn’t intentionally bully you. And Latera, you wouldn’t emit divine power at her on purpose either.”

“Then…”

“What can we do? You two just don’t get along. I’ll take care of Encia here. You go out with Ophilia for a bit.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but be careful. Priests have started to appear around here recently.”

Shiron rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a pouch full of gold coins. Encia, taken aback, then burst into laughter.

Shiron patted the crying Latera’s back as they strolled through the mansion’s garden. Latera was still clinging to him, seemingly upset about something.

“Isn’t it time to get down?”

“Can’t I stay like this a little longer?”

“I thought you were mature despite your youthful appearance.”

“But, being like this makes my heart feel at ease.”

Latera mumbled as she rubbed her cheek against his chest, aware that her behavior might seem childish and immature. Yet, whether it was the unfamiliar environment or the aftermath of enduring 500 years of solitude, her instincts simply refused to let her be apart from Shiron.

To become a great guardian angel—this was Latera’s aspiration. Within her, the desire to prove herself as a dependable companion to the hero clashed with the urge to indulge in the tantrums she had never before allowed herself. On emotionally unstable days like these, she often revealed her childlike side to Shiron.

“Hero, where are you going now?”

“To see someone who can solve my problem.”

Shiron, cradling Latera in his arms, walked toward the main building from the garden. The gazes of numerous servants fell upon them, but Shiron, undeterred, continued on to meet the butler who had come out to greet him.

“I have important matters to discuss with Lady Eldrina.”

“I will guide you to the drawing room.”

After the butler led them to the drawing room, Eldrina, adorned in a simple gown, made her entrance.

“It’s been a while.”

Shiron stood and bowed his head, an action mirrored by Latera.

“How was your long journey?”

“Thanks to you, it was delightful. Every moment was so intense, it felt all too brief.”

Eldrina smiled, then covered her mouth with a fan. Like Hugo, Eldrina led a life that scarcely knew rest.

The vacation was a much-needed respite in their routine. Hugo, seen at the training ground the previous morning, bore a sunburn and the distinct marks of sunglasses on his face.

After spending such cherished time with her husband, Eldrina felt a profound sense of gratitude towards Shiron, significant enough to postpone mentioning the credit card bill of 70 million shillings.

“But, who is this young lady beside you? I haven’t seen her before.”

The modest girl sitting next to Shiron could not go unnoticed.

“Could she be your hidden…”

“No.”

“You haven’t even finished speaking. It’s startling to be cut off like that.”

“I know what you want to say. It’s too absurd considering my age.”

Shiron frowned deeply.

“I’m eighteen. Eighteen. To have a child this big, I would have had to marry at about five and have consummated the marriage right away.”

“…Sorry. Your mature appearance threw me off.”

“It must be because of all the hardships.”

“…Your sister Lucia still hasn’t shed her childishness.”

Eldrina smiled awkwardly, unable to meet his piercing gaze.

“So, what brings you to me? You’re usually hard to see because you’re always out and about.”

“Actually, it’s because of this child.”

Latera blinked, looking back and forth between Eldrina and Shiron.

“It’s about this child’s care. Could you perhaps lend me some servants?”

“…”

Latera breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the words that came out of Shiron’s mouth were not about finding someone to replace him in taking care of Latera.

“Lending a few servants isn’t difficult. If you want to select personnel to take care of her, I can provide as many as you need.”

Eldrina said, looking into her sparkling purple eyes.

“Child. Come here.”

“Are you speaking to me?”

“Go ahead.”

As Shiron patted her back, Latera hesitantly approached Eldrina.

Eldrina gently patted her knees and then embraced Latera lightly.

“What’s your name, child?”

“I’m… Latera.”

“That’s a beautiful name. Your hair is glossy, your complexion is bright. And you don’t smell… at all.”

Eldrina buried her nose in Latera’s hair and then chuckled. Latera, creeped out, sent a questioning look to Shiron.

‘Hero. This woman is strange. Why is she smelling me? Is she a pervert who feels lust towards young girls?’

‘…I don’t know.’

Seeing Shiron unable to keep his mouth shut, Eldrina blushed and protested.

“I was just checking if she didn’t smell.”

“Do you have a very keen sense of smell?”

“I made a contract with a spirit during the trip. The spirit is telling me, even though she doesn’t carry the blood of the Prient, this child is far from ordinary.”

“I see.”

“Let’s forget about the servant matter. If I can afford it, I will recruit someone to take care of this child.”

“Then, may I leave now?”

“…No.”

Eldrina said, fanning her flushed face.

“I actually wanted to see you too.”

“…For what reason?”

“About Siriel and Lucia.”

“Why them?”

As Shiron asked, Eldrina’s fanning became even faster. It seemed to cool down the boiling heat, making Shiron’s head nod along.

“Unexcused absences.”

“Excuse me…?”

“Not just Lucia. Siriel too, I heard. And not just for a day or two, but for a whole fortnight.”

The notification sitting on the desk in the office upon their return from vacation scattered the remnants of their trip.

“This is a problem. Lucia is one thing, but Siriel needs to properly graduate from the academy. Missing classes for a month will cause disruptions, won’t it?”

“…I am sorry for that part.”

Instead of making excuses, Shiron chose to bow his head. It was his fault, even if Siriel had followed him secretly; he could have prevented it if he wished.

Eldrina sighed at Shiron’s straightforward apology.

“It’s not that I don’t want Lucia or Siriel to grow up ignorant. As someone called their mother, I can overlook small acts of rebellion.”

“…”

“But Siriel is the one who will inherit our knight order.”

Managing a knight order wasn’t just about martial strength; diplomacy and networking were also intricately involved to the point that they couldn’t be taken lightly.

“I want her to make many acquaintances at the academy and learn the art of living in a community and surviving. She doesn’t necessarily have to graduate, but there isn’t much time left for her at the academy, right? If she gets expelled now, she’ll be thrown into society having lost the abilities and relationships she should be building in her youth.”

“I agree with that.”

Shiron’s face stiffened as he nodded.

“I’ll discipline them properly. If you wish, I’ll even scold them. So thoroughly that they won’t dare follow me again, ensuring they can’t deviate by…”

“Is that the best you can do?”

Eldrina sent a thin glance at Shiron, who was cracking his fingers. Shiron realized that the woman’s intention wasn’t merely to give advice.

“Then, is there something else you desire?”

“I don’t want anything grandiose.”

In just a few seconds, Eldrina calculated whether it was the right moment to unveil her grand plan.

“Marry Siriel.”